Who’s in public broadcasting’s corner as funding cuts loom? Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.), for one. On Tuesday (Feb. 8) he issued a statement saying it is “critical” that Congress continues to support CPB, “an organization that consistently produces excellent programming for all age groups on news, current affairs, arts, and science. Defunding CPB will significantly hurt [NPR] news stations in less affluent areas because those communities rely on the vital federal funds set aside for public broadcasting. I’m committed to making sure that this important service continues.”

The New Jersey Network of four public TV and nine public radio stations is appraised at $51.2 million in documents accompanying three requests for proposals issued Friday (Feb. 4) by the State Treasury. Gov. Chris Christie (R) says the state can no longer afford to run the pubmedia outlets (Current, July 6, 2010). One RFP is for operation of the radio network, another for the sale of that network, and the final for operation of the TV network.

Gotham Gazette, a nonprofit news source funded by the Union Foundation, a good-government group that dates to 1897, has launched an online tool to enable users to track the influence of money in New York City politics. Councilpedia is funded in part with a News Challenge grant from the Knight Foundation. Currently information on more than 50 politicians are available. Available are donations by sector as well as individuals, bill sponsored and campaign expenditures.

In a new international study of public media systems in 14 democracies, two New York University media scholars find that many countries offer journalists legal protection from political interference and ensure that reporters have the autonomy to do their jobs. Rodney Benson and Matthew Powers also found that in those countries with government-funded media, which includes television, radio, newspapers, and online news, coverage is often higher quality public affairs coverage, with a wider range of viewpoints, and even are more critical of government than commercial media.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is providing open-source software pioneer Mozilla a $2.5 million grant to place technologists in newsrooms. The 15 Knight-Mozilla News Technology Partnership Fellows will provide open-source solutions that news organizations can use for free to “demonstrate the value of open-web technologies and spur their adoption across the news industry,” the two said in a statement today (Feb. 7). “Digital technology evolves daily, changing how people access and interact with the news,” said Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation president. “Technology has changed what we demand from news and is even affecting journalistic values. Really successful technology companies are built to handle that.

PBS NewsHour will be heard on Sirius XM Radio’s P.O.T.U.S weeknights at 6 p.m. Eastern starting today (Feb. 7). P.O.T.U.S. is nonpartisan, 24-hour news channel dedicated to American politics.

Patricia Boero has resigned as executive director of Latino Public Broadcasting, the organization announced today (Feb. 7), to spend more time in Uruguay with an ailing family member. Her departure is effective March 8. Boero (shown with LPB Chairman Edward James Olmos) said in her letter of resignation: “I am sad to be leaving the board and my team, but trust that the organization will see this transition as another opportunity for renewal and growth.” Luis Ortiz, managing director, will step in as interim. Boreo has been in the position since August 2007. In September 2010 she won the Latina Leaders Award from Imagen Foundation and Dolores Huerta Foundation.

Contributor Development Partnership launches as a data-driven effort to identify and share best practices in public media fundraising.

Leslie and Leigh Keno, the twin antique furniture appraisers on WGBH’s Antiques Roadshow, will debut their own line of furniture, Keno Bros., the week of Feb. 14 at the Today’s Home interior design store in Pennsylvania. A Pittsburgh Press writer calls the pieces “a stunningly beautiful collection of sleek, polished, modern profiles.” The Kenos also host Collect This! With The Keno Brothers on MSN. Leigh owns Keno Auctions in New York City, and Leslie is director of American furniture and decorative arts at the Sotheby’s auction house.

The host of the nationally syndicated WBGU show Marcia Adams Kitchen died Satuday (Feb. 5) in Fort Wayne, Ind., following a heart attack. She was 75. Adams also produced two documentaries about her 2001 heart transplant, “Heart to Heart” and “Change of Heart.” She was considered an expert in Amish cooking. Her five cookbooks included “Cooking from Quilt Country: Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens,” “Marcia Adams’ Heirloom Recipes: Yesterday’s Favorites, Tomorrow’s Treasures,” and “Recipes Remembered.” She also wrote two books about her heart trandplant and recovery, “Heart to Heart” and “Heart Anew.” Most recently she had been working on a novel, “Don’t Envy Me,” about a battered wife.

Enough of the adventure, suspense and danger. “I’m glad to be home,” Pat Johnson tells the Chicago NBC affiliate in an interview as the Grannies on Safari travelers finally arrived in Chicago on Friday (Feb. 4). The two hosts of the WTTW nationally syndicated show, Johnson and Regina Fraser, were leading a tour group of 14 in Cairo when anti-government protests erupted into violence. A vacationing photojournalist traveling with the group to shoot video for an upcoming webisode ended up capturing dramatic shots of the crowds. In an interview with the local ABC affiliate the next day, Fraser recalled seeing “row upon row, upon row, upon row, upon row, for blocks and blocks, of tanks.”

As of 11 p.m. Eastern Saturday (Feb. 5), KQED had pulled in 392 new members in a half-price deal on Groupon (that link only visible until end of the deal Sunday). Yup, for $20, it’s a basic membership (a $40 value) and for $75, a leadership circle membership ($150 value). What’s Groupon? FAQ’s here. Is this cool or what? UPDATE: 11:30, 393.

The CPB-funded Independent Television Service has posted an Egypt & Democracy page with content and resources to help visitors better understand the historical context behind the ongoing violent anti-government protests. “ITVS has a history of working with international filmmakers as well as community organizers, educators, and activists to trace the evolution of democracy movements worldwide,” spokesperson Voleine Amilcar told Current.

Today’s feel-good pubcasting story is brought to you by the Westchester.com local news site, with its story datelined Ossining, N.Y., about WDFH – a station with far too complex and quirky a history to detail here. It begins back when Marc Sophos spent about 20 years to get an FCC license, starting in 1973 when he was a student at Dobbs Ferry High School, and it includes the phrase, “This is the first time in the station’s entire history that it has had a viable signal and a studio at the same time.”